Hello everyone!
I would first like to say that I've never played Elder Scrolls. Pretty much every other RPG there is, but not Elder scrolls.

That said, Skyrim looks promising and I would like to hear your advise...
I like 3rd person views. I like seeing my character fighting, and I like animations (when done right).
The game is supporting both as I've seen on Youtube, but I wanted to know if I will play the game will I be missing something, expereince-wise? Can someone please elaborate on the differences between the 2 views?

Also, what's the lengh of the game? Considering it does not have multiplayer.

Thanks in advance!

dannythefool

11-05-2011, 12:13 PM

I've been playing the last two titles in the series (Morrowind and Oblivion) in third person ever since they came out and I don't think you're missing out on anything. The main difference used to be that it's easier to aim in first person, but I don't know if they fixed that in Skyrim. ;-)

Oh and I don't know about the length, it'll depend on what you do, from a few hours to a few hundred hours...

Edit: Yeah, some people find first person more immersive. I'm just going to assume you're not one of them since you specifically asked about playing in third person. Regardless, you'll still be able to switch between first and third quickly (one keypress).

tpanisiak

11-05-2011, 12:13 PM

Meh, no real difference. I know it was a pain in the ♥♥♥♥ in Oblivion to shoot spells and arrows without a mod for crosshairs, etc. First person is nice for a lot of things detail-wise.

I've always enjoyed the feel of third-person melee fighting, however. Even with the crude animations of Oblivion is was a bit more satisfying for close-range fighting.

Otherwise, no: you won't be missing anything. It's great for taking screenshots in third person, but I find first-person will allow more of an "awe" factor. Either or, switch between the two in game and see what works best for you. :)

They also said the length of the game should be around +30 hours for the MAIN QUEST. Any seasoned Elder Scrolls veteran will tell you the meat-and-cheese of the game is in the side quests. They're pegging it at +300 in total for quests and exploration.

Kiya

11-05-2011, 12:14 PM

First person gives me a much more immersive experience - third person makes me feel like I am guiding a puppet on a string rather than actually being in the world myself. First person also, for me, makes aiming easier. Just my own preferance. Each to their own :D

kttccat

11-05-2011, 12:14 PM

Length of the main quest is 30-40 hours, and with side-quests and dungeons, atleast 300 hours. (150 dungeons alone, around 315 unique locations).
Very long game, alot of content for your dollar.

About the views, the game was made with first-person view in mind primarily, but they added the third-person view because they know people enjoy watching their characters walk/run/fight etc. They worked very hard and it's much better than in there past games. I highly recommend it even if you'll be playing third person the entire time.

ace62394

11-05-2011, 12:15 PM

If you just speed through the main quest, it's at least 30 hours. They said something similar with TESIV: Oblivion, but I've put in at least 1300 hours into it O.o

Angryfreak

11-05-2011, 12:16 PM

The length of the game is how long you really want to put time into it, what i mean by that is you can completely ignore the main quest and still be going for days. Even if you do beat it you can explore the world and even mod it when it's at least some months old. (I prefer first person, will try 3rd in this one a little bit but not too much.)

lucas18251

11-05-2011, 12:18 PM

There's a reason you don't play RPGs in 1st person... those RPGs don't have it.

The TES series are famous for their sense of complete immersion. The first person view is one of the key factors that contribute to this immersion. 99% of TES fans play these games in 1st person view. Partly because it is so well done. Partly because no other RPG does this. It may seem weird at first, due to the big difference between other RPGs, but playing in first person is, to me, mandatory in any TES game. It will take some getting used to, but I see no other way. Skyrim is the first TES game where 3rd person view is actually "alright" (oblivion 3rd person sucked), but you owe it to yourself to try out first person for at least a few hours. If you still don't like, feel free to switch. Keep in mind though, this game was developed around the first person camera view.

Length depends on what platform you're playing this on. You're in a steam forum, so Im gonna assume it's the PC. If that's the case, then you've got about 300 hours of SP, vanilla experience, plus a billion hours of mods, plus a few hours of DLC content. Many of us still play Oblivion, 5 years later.

Consoles have 300 hours of SP and a few DLC hours. They suck. lol

unrealenvy

11-05-2011, 12:19 PM

I've been playing the last two titles in the series (Morrowind and Oblivion) in third person ever since they came out and I don't think you're missing out on anything. The main difference used to be that it's easier to aim in first person, but I don't know if they fixed that in Skyrim. ;-)

Oh and I don't know about the length, it'll depend on what you do, from a few hours to a few hundred hours...

Thank you for the quick reply.
Third person it is then.

As for the hours, is it like DA:O or so? I always do all the side quests and main story, obviously.

lucas18251

11-05-2011, 12:22 PM

Jesus, OP, congrats on what seems like the highest "Reply-per-minute" post in the history of Steam. When i hit the reply button to your post, it had 0 posts.. when i hit the submit button, it already had 7 lol

kttccat

11-05-2011, 12:23 PM

Thank you for the quick reply.
Third person it is then.

As for the hours, is it like DA:O or so? I always do all the side quests and main story, obviously.

Longer than DA:O. I beat DA:O + all sidequests i could find in under 50 hours. Skyrim has 30-40 main quest, and around 300 hours of other gameplay in sidequests/dungeons/extra "objectives".

unrealenvy

11-05-2011, 12:26 PM

Wow, I'm shocked of the community here. Finally some mature gamers, that seems to know what they want in a game, and why.
300 hours inc. sub-quests? That's A LOT! I never expected the game to be so lenghty, definitely worth the 60$ if that's true, and apperently it is. Even half of it is enough for me to shell out 60$.

I think I will give the 1st person view a shot after all... I mean, if I can run-and-gun in FPS games, why not in an RPG world? Never experienced it before, just might give me a "feel" about actually being on the ground.

Last thing that bothers me is the state of the game when it launches. I mean, Fallout was buggy as hell when It was released, I sure hope this game will be different.

kttccat

11-05-2011, 12:28 PM

Wow, I'm shocked of the community here. Finally some mature gamers, that seems to know what they want in a game, and why.
300 hours inc. sub-quests? That's A LOT! I never expected the game to be so lenghty, definitely worth the 60$ if that's true, and apperently it is. Even half of it is enough for me to shell out 60$.

I think I will give the 1st person view a shot after all... I mean, if I can run-and-gun in FPS games, why not in an RPG world? Never experienced it before, just might give me a "feel" about actually being on the ground.

Last thing that bothers me is the state of the game when it launches. I mean, Fallout was buggy as hell when It was released, I sure hope this game will be different.

I don't think it will be too bad. 3 years of work from Bethesda and i don't think some bugs on release should make you miss out on 11.11.11. It's going to be a fantastic game, even without mods. (I personally don't mod my RPG games, i love them in there Vanilla form).

zReflexx

11-05-2011, 12:33 PM

do not play in third perosn there is no lock on int this game so hitting accurately is quite difficult. just play in first person its much cooler to see your sword trust into the belly of you foe in first person then 3rd. also the bow/spell acuracy ect. but riding horses is forced third person and same with werewolves!! werewolves isnt that bad i guess since the swipe of your claw is wide but still hope modders let it be in first person.

lucas18251

11-05-2011, 12:42 PM

About the bugs... in 7 hours or so of gameplay i've watched from the 360 version, i haven't really noticed anything major.

there were bugs that were minor...
this one time, the player went into a tent at like 11 pm game time, and the npc he talked to was sleeping, but his character model was actually standing up. so he awkwardly poped into the sleeping position, then got back up.

when you ride your horse, the camera switches to 3rd person view. sometimes your horse disappears and it seems like you're gliding mid air. the horse appears again after 1 second or 2.

some pathing issues with your companion. the companion sometimes gets in the way by standing in a doorway, for example.

the only major issue i've found (and it seems to be a common one):

there's a quest where you have to brawl with someone - NOT KILL HIM/SHE - but if you have your companion with you, your companion will sometimes think that you're actually in a fight and will rush in the protect you, killing the npc in the process (which fails the quest). you then have to reload and try again.

that example brings me to another bug:
in the 3 times this one player reloaded to retry this one quest, he ran far off, away from the npc with his companion. he then told the companion to "Wait here". the companion stood there. but as soon as the brawl started, the companion rushed back to the player and once again "aided" him in combat, failing the quest once again. it took a good 4 tries, but the player was finally able to get the quest done.

moldy_tomato

11-06-2011, 01:58 AM

...
The first person view is one of the key factors that contribute to this immersion. 99% of TES fans play these games in 1st person view. Partly because it is so well done. Partly because no other RPG does this.
...There are actually plenty of other RPGs done in 1st person view.
The Might and Magic series is the first one that comes to mind.

Trikaya

11-06-2011, 05:40 AM

This ^

I got World of Xeen when I was in 8th grade and was completely hooked on the sense of immersion the 1st person view gives. To this day I find it nearly impossible to play 3rd person games, especially those with the "diagonal" movement.

Besides, jumping in Morrowind / Oblivion in 3rd person just looks silly - my friends and I used to giggle like little girls as we switched to 3rd person and just jumped over and over again to level our Athletics. :D

dannythefool

11-06-2011, 05:44 AM

In one of the interviews, Todd Howard said it always surprises him that in Europe, 60%-70% play in third person...

I grew up with top-down view, and later, isometric view. A huge amount of RPGs in that style came out of the shareware scene in the late 80ies and 90ies. Only few have survived, but I still prefer being told a story to being the hero myself. (Also I get nausea from first person games anyway, but I suppose most people don't...)

Trikaya

11-06-2011, 05:47 AM

but I still prefer being told a story than being the hero myself. (Also I get nausea from first person games anyway

i've never looked at it from that perspective...it's a great idea. i'll have to keep that point of view in mind when d3 comes out. :)

Bøf

11-06-2011, 07:01 AM

Definately going 1st person all the way, might take a peak in 3rd person to checkout armor/weapons when equipped.

To me, 1st person seems to equal a longer game aswell dunno why. Might be the need to turn around and watch stuff or something.
I enjoy the thorough and detailed world to its fullest and I can easilly see myself putting in more hours than in any other game so far.
Probably even more than in Oblivion and that clock passed 1000 hours a long time ago.